Perfect Image
by smileandwave
Summary: People go to drastic lengths to fit the perfect image...
1. Prologue

Hey, hey, hey, smileandwave here! I appologize to all the people who are reading my other stories; I promise I will eventually get to updating and finishing them! I kind of lost my inspiration with those stories at the moment, but I assure you, I will not abandon either of my stories I have already written. That is a promise. Now, I hope you enjoy reading the first chapter of my third fic, Perfect Image!

Title: Perfect Image

Rating: T

# of Words: 1,221

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

Coping is not a foreign word to me. I've had to cope for so long, I'm surprised I'm still alive. I shouldn't be alive at all, actually. At age three, my family had already had great expectations for me. I was supposed to be one of those "beautiful-super-skinny-model-kinds-of-people-who-has-everything-under-control" kind of people, like everyone else in my family. I vowed to never become one of them.

Father, mother, and even my elder siblings urged me to uptake the family business of modeling, but I much preferred to play in the sand box, get dirty, go to day care and meet other children my age, and so on. I mean, seriously; three year olds aren't supposed to be models when they can barely walk.

My family's behaviors always disgusted me to the core. If their influence wasn't enough, it was their eating habits. Or actually, it's better to put it as their starving habits.

Every mealtime was horrible; there was barely enough food on the table to feed a starving stray animal from off the street. The conversations would range from, "I think we should cut back on the carbs, because I noticed I gained a pound yesterday," to "You guys know what? Today feels like a fat day for all of us, so how about we not eat or drink anything at all?" Being so young, I couldn't say no to my family, but I would always sneak as much food as I could scrounge up after everyone had fallen asleep. Even still, I was always hungry.

At age seven, things didn't get any better. No matter what I did, I couldn't convince my family to stop doing this to themselves. They wouldn't listen to rationality; starving themselves was engraved into their minds. The skinnier you are in modeling, the more jobs you get. Their way of thinking was vile to me. They would always say how fat they were, when they probably were thirty pounds under weight, sometimes even more. Soon, I couldn't live with it anymore.

One day, I told them that I would run away if they continued to starve themselves. I told them to look in any of the millions of full-length mirrors in our house, and take a good hard look at themselves. They were killing themselves with this obsession for being thin.

Still, they wouldn't listen. Because the media was always following my family, they said that if I wouldn't accept their policy, their way of life, I would just have to "die". I mean die as in not exist. They made up a story about how I had ran away, and was probably dead because I couldn't be found. The media made a large deal out of it for a while there, but like all stories, mine died out becaue of two things; one was I had never been in the modeling industry, and two was that I was the youngest child, the accidental child that didn't matter to anyone. And that was how I disappeared. I didn't exist to anyone anymore, even if I was actually alive.

Being "dead" came with even more restrictions than being a model; I couldn't be seen in public for obvious reasons. So, while my family found themselves even more work, modeling with some of the hugest magazines in all of Japan, I was forgotten. My family members got so infused with their work, they didn't have time for me anymore. Not unless I wanted to become one of them. Then, I could spend some time with them, but it wouldn't be out in public for the risk of uncovering my family's lie about my "death". Living this life, I felt like a used piece of junk. I couldn't even get their attention anymore; this wasn't a life anyone could put up with. There were so many times where I thought about ending my life for real, but my common sense always shone through some how, and I lived on.

This went on for years upon end, me living in the same house as my "family" until that day happened. I remember that day so clearly; the vividness of that seemingly perfect day forever engraved into my mind. It was a few days before my elder sister's birthday. The weather was absolutely gorgeous outside; the sun shone brightly down upon the earth, the weather being comfortably warm. My entire family – excluding me of course - had left on a business trip to celebrate my sister's success as a model, as well as to tour somewhere in America. I had been left home alone, as usual, to myself. I couldn't have been happier; this meant I could do whatever I wanted. What, you didn't think that I would have my own freedom even if I wasn't directly associated with my family any more, did you? I wasn't allowed outside of the house, on account I was the "disappointment" of the family.

Being only around twelve years at the time, I finally got the courage to try and escape our house. My family no longer trusting me, I knew they had set up traps to try and stop me from escaping our house. For over three years, I had tried to get past those traps, but to no avail. Now, being much wiser than all those years ago, I somehow managed to leave my house. I had no belongings with me, for my family had stopped buying me things long ago. Running out on the fancy rich people's streets with clothes way too large for me hanging off my body and no shoes secured around my feet, I broke out into a dead run in the middle of the night. I'm surprised no one saw me, but I was oblivious to the fact I could be caught, thanks to the rush of adrenalin that coursed through my veins as I ran for one of the first times in who knows how long. That's when I saw it.

My father's car was upturned, the wheels still spinning. The pure white car was dyed red with the dark red liquid known as blood. I stopped in my tracks, my heart racing. Breathing heavily, I started backing up away from the scene, for I could hear the sirens of police cars approaching the scene in the distance.

I ran blindly away from the scene, too stunned to believe anything. I remember tripping over my feet while fleeing the scene, and crying for hours and hours to myself on a park bench maybe three or four kilometers away from the scene of the crime. That was when the biggest mistake of my life occurred. Because of my hectic and erratic behavior after seeing my family killed, my common sense escaped me. In my stupor, I had forgotten to hide myself from the public. And it was just my luck to have someone from one of the various modeling agencies my family was associated with drive by, remember who I was, and take custody of me.

Things were a blur to me after that, but this leads you to where my real story begins; with me having to fit that "Perfect Image" my family had always tried so hard to peruse, trying so hard they made enemies and were killed because of it.

So, what does everyone think of it so far? Personally, I love the Ikkaku/Yumi paring just because they're so adorable together :) I'm wondering how this turned out, because I'm not sure I'm satisfied with the plot so far, but reviews will help me with that! Review, review, and review again, because your thoughts and ideas are very much appreciated so I can make this story as good as possible!


	2. Yumi And The Beast

Hello people who are kind enough to read my story! Well, here's chapter 2... I hope it's entertaining enough for people to want to keep reading this story... Oh, and I need more help developing this story because, to be honest, I have no idea where this plot is going! And I apologize for the long wait! Now, let's begin!

Title: Perfect Image

Rating: T

# of Words: 2,822

**Chapter 2: Yumi And The Beast**

"Yumichika, you're on in ten!" I sighed, twirling around in my chair to face the large mirror in front of me. These photo shoots were quite annoying; they're both time consuming and often times uncomfortable, despite how lavish everything may seem to be. And the worst part yet, was that there was sure to be at least three more tomorrow, four more the next day… Well, I guess you can see I'm not satisfied with my life. I mean, come on! Any normal fourteen-year-old guy would be dating hot girls, going to school – and probably hating it – and dealing with stupid teachers, playing sports and video games with his friends, eating junk food until he felt bloated. Me, I've never been able to experience these things.

What I saw in that mirror wasn't me. Or to put it more accurately, it wasn't what I wanted to be. It was something much more plastic and unrealistic looking. Porcelain skin, shoulder length color treated black-blue hair, high cheekbones that were meant for a girl, sunken violet eyes filled with despair, and long too skinny limbs that hung off his body awkwardly. No human should be able to see their bones popping out of their faces or bodies, or have skin so white that it looks as if it could break, or have hair that doesn't remember what color it was for it has had so many color treatments. How much I longed for an escape from my life! This was all because of my family… If they had never had been in the modeling agency, this would have never happened…

"Yumichika! Why haven't you put on your outfit yet? The shoot's starting in five!" I slid out of the chair, and faced no other than Rangiku Matsumoto, former model as well as my agent.

Now it's easy to see why this woman wanted to join the modeling agency; she was positively stunning. Long strawberry blond hair framed her heart shaped face, and complimented her crystal blue eyes. She was also one of the bustiest ladies in the modeling business; and what's even more amazing is that she didn't get implants to enhance them. Unlike me, Rangiku came from a poor town in the slums of Japan, but had always wanted to become a model. I'm not exactly sure how she found herself at the highest level of the modeling industry, but she certainly fits the part and does a good job.

"Now we're going to fix you up nicely!" she cooed, as she rummaged through the racks of clothing sitting beside the mirror. In maybe ten seconds flat, she had an outfit in her hands, and was shoving them into me while pushing me into the dressing room off set.

"Trust me, you'll look great!" Flashing me a blinding smile, Rangiku ran off somewhere – probably to talk to one of the photographers or get herself a treat – leaving me to change into the clothes I was going to model. I slipped out of my fuzzy white robe and pulled on a long silk blue shirt with gold trimmings around the collar and handcuffs. It surprised me how long the shirt was; it reached mid shin on me. I was assuming it was styled to be some kind of ancient Japanese sleeping attire.

The sleeves were three quarter sleeve length, but the black and red swirling designs around the bottom of the shirt as well as the large black and red dragon snaking across the front and back midsection of it dressed it up. Well, at least it wasn't another shoot where I had to "show off my body" as those damn directors and photographers requested. If anything, I disapproved of not being clothed for these shoots, but if the public wanted more seductiveness, I was to give them more seductiveness. It's just how the modeling world works. Whatever the public wants, the models give it to them.

Upon arriving on the scene, three different makeup artists rushed at me, all applying last minute touches on my makeup to make sure I looked his best. Now, you're probably thinking, "Guys wear makeup?!?!" It is true, every human being stuck in the life of a model must wear makeup; it's a requirement.

The director greeted me with a warm smile, shaking my hand and debriefing me about the shoot and how things were going to be run. "At this director seems nice, unlike some I've had," I thought to myself, recalling all the horrible directors I'd had in the past.

"Good to meet you, Ayasegawa-san. I'm the director who will be running your shoot. My name is Nobuo Kazuhiro. You may call me whatever you wish." The man was quite a bit taller than me, but had a caring smile and a warm, welcoming aura about him. I decided that I liked him enough to try and give him a good shoot, even though I hated my job. I might as well try to give the poor guy a couple of good pictures, because he really didn't seem like one of _those_ people.

"It is a pleasure to meet you too, Nobuo-san. I promise to try my hardest!" I cracked a wide, toothy grin at the man and he grinned back. Oh man, was this guy a push over or what? He couldn't even tell when someone was faking a smile. Or maybe it was that he had gotten so good at faking his happiness that no one could tell anymore… Now that was kind of sad.

"… You know what to do. You'll be great!" Crap, I just missed the instructions that Nobuo guy gave me! I guess that will teach me to stop going off on tangents in my mind when I'm supposed to be focusing on my messed up job. Whatever, I guess I'll just have to improvise. I mean, winging something and making the best out of the worst situations is what I've been doing all my life.

Nobuo had already taken his seat and was waiting patiently for me to begin posing. Sighs, this guy is too nice for his own good. I walked over toward the set which consisted of blue silk streams hanging from the ceiling over a red velvet long chase lounge and gently set myself down onto the chase lounge. I hear the clicking of cameras and the blinding flashes envelop my body, as I change my body positions and facial expressions. A couple of shots lying down, looking mournful. Then half sit up, look exhausted. After, sitting upright with legs handing off the ground with a few shots of looking solemn and maybe some even looking passionately into the camera. Around two hours later, the shoot is done and I can relax.

"Simply amazing, Ayasegawa-san! You certainly have your family's blood in you! All of these shots will be perfect to advertise the Kyoraku clothing company! I'm sure the Kyoraku corporation would be willing to give you the clothing you're wearing, if you'd like. I mean, it IS the new style of their company after all, and I'm sure they're very appreciative of all the work you've done for them…" Nobuo just kept on blabbering, as I got up from the lounge and started to walk back toward the dressing room. Not that I wanted to be disrespectful, but all I really wanted at that moment was to change out of these clothes and for him to shut the hell up so I could have some peace and quiet to myself.

It was strange; after seeing me in action, Nobuo went a little off his rocker. He seemed so calm and collected before, but now he's going all rapid fire on me, telling me things at speeds the ear was never made to be able to follow. Damn, all I want to do is relax for a moment! Gathering my composer as quickly as possible, I put on that fake model persona that every single person in my phony family would be proud of.

"Ano… Nobuo-san? I've kind of got to change now… and there are a lot of other shoots I have to get too…" Cracking another brilliant smile, I slowly backed away from the overzealous director, hoping he would get the message and allow me my ten minutes of peace.

"Gomen, gomen, Ayasegawa-san! I'll leave you to yourself. A thousand apologies… I just got extremely excited because I got to work with you first hand. You have such a famous family legacy in the modeling industry that… I don't even know what I want to say anymore! It was such an honor to shoot and work with you! Maybe we can work together sometime – "

"It was nice to get to know you too, but I've really got to go." With that, I pushed past the man who was still looking at me with admiration in his eyes. Once completely off set, I let my mask drop, allowing fatigue to shadow over me. The rest of the population wouldn't believe how much modeling takes out of you, both physically and mentally. Quickly, I stripped off the attire I had just modeled, and grabbed a pair of baggy jeans with a chain dangling from the belt loops, and a white deep v-neck t-shirt, sliding it all on. Thinking it could possibly be chilly out, I also grabbed a black leather jacket, stuffed my cell phone and some money into one of the side pockets, and shrugged it over my shoulders. I sighed, slowly walking over to the far side of the dressing room and plopping down onto the couch. "Now, this would be an absolutely perfect end to a shoot if Ran – "

"YUMICHIKA DARLING! YOU WERE MUCHO FABULOUSO! EVERYONE LOVED YOU, AND YOU TOTALLY WORKED IT TODAY! I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOTTEN INTO YOU, BUT YOU SEEM TO BE IMPROVING! LIKE, REALLY DRASTICALLY! SO KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK, AND GET YOUR LAZY ASS OFF THAT COUCH! IT'S MAKING YOUR POSTURE LOOK SLOOPY! AND LASTLY, LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Rangiku's voice blared through my ears, causing me to lurch upward. She really doesn't have more than one volume setting to her… I gave Rangiku my best death glare, implying she was annoying me and killing my ears, but she just smiled at me and skipped over to where I was sitting. She plunked down next to me, and gave me a huge hug.

Oh god, there's nothing like a Rangiku hug. Literally, she takes you, embraces – no, more like glomps you, with her bustyness and all - you, and squeezes you half to death. Sometimes, I think she'll actually snap me in half. My bones aren't all that strong, and her monster hugs aren't really that good for the body if you're as stickly as I am.

"Oh Yumi-chan, you're so beautiful, you know that? Your parents would be so proud of you if they were still on this earth with us." Slowly, she detached herself from embracing me, and gave me a quick peck on my cheek. I tried not to flinch, as she began to walk back toward the exit.

"Remember, my precious darling! You have about an hour of free time before you have to meet me at the main office! Be there, OR ELSE!" Rangiku stuck her tongue out at me, and swiftly left the room.

It really wasn't her fault I was in such a bad mood. She didn't know how much her words about my... My family… stung me. It was always happening – people mentioning my family I mean – but still… I could never get over the thought of my family being "proud" of me. I mean, yeah sure, I wanted them to love me and care for me like normal parents did to normal children. The thing is, they were not normal parents, therefore I did not turn out to be a normal kid. Even after death, they somehow dragged me into their dream life, and my idea of a hellhole.

I've never told anyone this, but what I've always wanted was to be loved for who I really am. Not for what everyone thinks I should be. But for me; the true me. Okay, go ahead and laugh. It's okay to laugh, because that's what I know people would do if word ever gets around. Because people are stupid; they think that I enjoy this kind of life. A life filled with wealth, popularity, the idea of being special. What they don't see is all the downsides this can bring. I haven't ever been to school. I starve myself. I'm mentally unstable. And I'm depressed. Do any of you think this sounds like a good life? I think (or at least, I hope) you never have to deal with this kind of life. If you want to be a model, then go right ahead. But never let yourself be forced into it. Unless you want my fate. The fate of being an extremely lost, unhappy, person.

Okay, enough pouring my heart out. Time to go. Lifting myself completely of the couch, I made my way to the door. Once I was out of the accursed dressing room, I carefully pulled the hood of my jacket over my head, so average civilians wouldn't be able to recognize and attack me while I took my hour long break.

The city known as Seireitei seemed so lively as my feet carried me through the hustle and bustle of the life everyday people experience. People were selling things off of their vendors, men and women were scuffling along heading off to work, children pranced and played games in the local squares and public gardens.

As I walked, I found my legs enroute to taking me to a familiar place; Kuchiki Corner. Kuchiki Corner is a small sake and tea shop on the far edge of the city. It's located in the sixth district of Seireitei – which was quite a walk, on account of being was in the tenth district currently – but it had the most fabulous tea in the entire world. It is also once of the prettiest places I've ever been, and, for some strange reason, it was always the place where I went to relax. I discovered it because Rangiku has a friend who works there, and ever since that first visit, I've become an annual customer.

Suddenly, the ground lurched beneath me, and I found myself on the ground, with many different kinds of food spread around me.

"Oi, watch where you're going, baka!" A muscular bald boy around my age stared down at me, as if attempting to glare daggers into my soul. He wore a black pullover hoodie, with ripped black jeans to match. From what I could tell, he also had some kind of strange red tattoo on his skull... He almost reminded me of some kind of beast... Oh for the love of Pete, what have I gotten myself into?

"You should watch out for people in the sidewalk, you don't own it," I said haughtily, trying to keep my cool as I brushed myself off.

"Damn you! You squished the squash! AND you shattered Ma's sakura juice! You'd better pay for it!" The beast growled at me, jamming his index finger into my chest. No normally, I would stand up for myself in these kinds of situations, but, because I wasn't in the mood to get beaten to a bloody pulp, I obeyed him, to avoid being slaughtered. Slowly, I reached into my pocket, and took out the small sum of money I had on me. Before I could give it to him, the money was out of my hands and stuffed in his pants pocket.

"Well? Aren't you going to pick up the food you dropped?" The beast sneered at me, pointing down at the food surrounding me. I rapidly shoved the food back into the bags he was carrying, and scooted back to give me distance between him.

"If you know what's good for you, you won't cross paths with me again." With that, he briskly walked away from me, his groceries underneath his arm. Well, that was fun. I got shoved down to the ground by a neighborhood bully, lost all the money I had on me, and just got put into a sour mood because of all of it.

"Perfect. I know you really love me, world, but today just isn't my day!" Yelling this at the top of my lungs, I stormed off toward Kuchiki Corner. Yes, I had no money to get anything like originally planned, but I needed to cool off somewhere…

I felt something strange after that encounter, though. I know I was a tad pissed off that I had just lost my money. Except, normally, I keep my cool when those kinds of incidents happen... But, what was this strange heart racing feeling I was still experiencing? Was it because of fear? I didn't think so; I'm quite good at holding an unbreakable composure. But, weirdly enough… I somehow felt… Different? I can't explain the feeling. Maybe it was that he treated me the way he would treat any normal person… That's something no one has ever really done. And, even odder than that, I _did_ think he was kind of attractive… Oh my god, am I crushing on a muscular bald guy?!?!?!?!?!

Okay, that was a horrible way to end a chapter... This thing definitely needs work! So people, anyone willing to help the author in need? Shoot me a PM or a review, because they make me happy, and when the author is happy, you get to read more! Please tell me what you think of this story!!! Should I continue it, or not?


	3. Just Another Day In My Life

Sorry for the slow updates! This chapter is kind of slow, but I needed it to set some things in motion. Hope you guys enjoy, and don't absolutely hate me for the slow updates! I'll try and go faster, but life's getting complicated now so updates will still be kind of slow... HAPPY OLYMPICS TO YOU ALL! And also, I would love it if someone would step up and beta things for me, because I feel like this chapter could be beta'd quite a bit. And please feel free to tell me ideas for the stories! PM me if you want! Always open for suggestions!

Title: Perfect Image

Rating: T

# of words: 1,839

**Chapter 3: Just Another Day In My Life**

"Ohaiyou, Yumichika-chan!" Right as I walked into Kuchiki Corner, I saw Rangiku's friend, Momo, serving the Kuchiki siblings glasses of steaming green tea in the far back corner table. After placing the earth toned teapot and glasses upon its ebony surface, she walked over to me, dragging me deeper into the shop.

"Ohaiyou, Momo-chan." Hinamori Momo is probably the closest person I have to a friend in my life. She's Rangiku's close childhood friend, and for some reason, we just clicked the minute we met. She's quite pretty, and is the sweetest person you could possibly come across in these parts. Never has there been a time where she has been impolite, rude, unkind or has shown any animosity toward anyone in all the time I've known her. Maybe it's because we're close in age that we became so friendly with each other. To tell you the truth, we are so completely different, that I will never be able to understand our friendship, but that's beside the point. We're best friends, and I know I can tell her anything and I trust her beyond words; it's that indescribable.

"What would you like today, Yumichika-chan!" Momo, gave me the largest smile you could possibly imagine on such a tiny person, and nudged me gently into one of the bar seats.

"I don't have any money on me today, Momo-chan." I quickly explained what had happened, wanting to get through all the craziness of the day as rapidly as possible. After the retelling of my epic day, Momo's eyes widened, her hands shaking. Oh great, here it goes. Three, two one…

"That's absolutely terrible! Are you unhurt?" squeaked Momo, who then proceeded to poke and prod my body, in search for any sign of injury. She scanned over my body, looking for the tiniest most miniscule scratch that could have possibly graced a living organism.

"Momo, you're over reacting!" My cheeks flushed red as I swatted her hand away, barely stopping her before she took off my clothing in attempt to search beneath my shirt for further injuries…

Now get those dirty thoughts out of your head! I know what you're thinking right now, but that's not it. We're best friends, and I don't like her in that way. I just don't feel comfortable with people looking at my body, ironically enough. Well anyway, maybe I shouldn't have told her about my predicament…

"Well, as long as you're not hurt…" She backed away from me and sat down, folding her hands in her lap. She gave me a million dollar smile, and then began rambling on about the shop, how her family was doing, some political stuff going on throughout our expansive town of Seireitei, something about the extremely hot – when is it not hot? – weather. You know, the usual stuff. I pretended to act interested, nodding occasionally, and commenting on this and that. I didn't mean to be inattentive, for being rude to Momo is a sin in itself, but I couldn't stop thinking about that boy who crashed into me earlier on. For some reason, he was lodged inside my brain as money was in a wallet these days.

Then she began talking about school life, complaining about how hard her classes were, and how she hated her parents for making her go to summer school and yada yada yada. I didn't really care to hear about her summer school life, knowing that I would never get the opportunity to experience the things she had. It really just wasn't fair. Normal people live such happy lives, while famous ones live in a worldwide hell. People always think famous people have it so easy, but its not. Not at all. They underestimate the power of other the public, and what havoc it reeks on us every day. There isn't a single moment where some paparazzi person or other member of the media isn't breathing down my back. Privacy and happiness are not part of my life, so I think it is fair to say that I despise my life, or at least the majority of it. And it doesn't help it when people who lead perfectly nice lives snark about opportunities other people do not get.

I also absolutely detest it when people take things for granted. Okay, now Momo doesn't really take it for granted, but it bothers me when she talks about school like it's a nuisance sometimes. How I long to go to school! Even if it was summer school, I know I would have a wonderful time! I could make a life for myself, and explore the world to my hearts content. But nope, I stay in the modeling business, because I have no other choice. I must follow what the agency wants me to do, or else I won't have a home. Oh, right. Back to my hatred of ungrateful people.

It's always been one of my pet peeves, I guess. It makes sense, anyways… Oh, how I wished to go to school! Sounds crazy, right? And I keep talking about it, because I WANT IT THAT BADLY. I bet you're thinking I'm a psychopath for wishing for such a thing. Well, I don't really care what you think. All I know, is that when I'm too old to be in this business – and I do pray that time comes soon – I'll need some kind of way to support myself. And the only way to do that is through education. But, being a full time model doesn't really give you the time to do that, so… Yeah, I'm out of luck right now.

"… And then this really amazing teacher came over to me and said…"

Oh! This sounds interesting! Looks like adorable Hinamori-chan has another crush on someone! Hopefully, he's more attractive than the last one…

"Now who exactly is this teacher?" I purred, folding my hands together in an attempt to look as interested as I sounded. "Someone you're interested in?"

"Yumi-chan! Now, don't think in that way! You know it's… not right to like people that much older than you, right? Get your head out of the gutter!" She blushed, crimson flooding her features. All I could do was laugh. She was just too cute sometimes! I couldn't help but tease her just a little bit more.

'Tall and handsome? Or short and toned? Serious or playful? Eccentric and loud? Or considerate and soft spoken? Rough chiseled features like myself, or soft feminine features, like you own?" I gently cupped her cheek in my hand, my Cheshire grin doubling in size.

"He's just my Physics teacher for Kami's sake! Stop it now!" Pouting and giving me her best 'I really don't want to speak to you glare' simultaneously, she turned away, crossing her arms in front of her chest in defiance to my assumptions.

Well, my sense of humor didn't charm her this time I see… But I was definitely right after all! Now, to help the situation, and encourage her to go for it!

"Well, I couldn't allow my gorgeous gregarious best friend's heart be broken, now couldn't I? I'm always here for beauty tips, you know. But I'll only help you if you tell me his name." She froze in place for a moment, as if contemplating how to approach my proposal. I knew I had her hooked. She wasn't going to be able to say no, because when she really wants something, she'll do whatever it takes to get things to work her way.

"Fine, you got me." SCORE ONE FOR THE BOY'S BACK HOME! "Well, his name's Aizen Sosuke, and he's new to Seireitei High this year, and he's really great…" Hinamori's eyes fluttered a little bit, as she fell off into a daydream about her seemingly stunning new crush.

"Oh Hinamori-chan! You're really great, you know that? Really and truly." I flashed her one of my most brilliant smiles, and embraced her, feeling her heart flutter about against my chest.

"… I hope I'm not interrupting anything important, but I believe it is about time for you go depart?" Kuchiki-san walked over to us, smiling softly. I drew out my cell phone, realizing that if I didn't hurry, I _would_ be late for that meeting… White hair chibi would kill me if I'm late for his appointment, and Rangiku-san… Oh dear.

"Arigatou, Kuchiki-san. I greatly appreciate your keen sense of timing. It was kind of you to let me stop by and chat for a while. I hope your life continues to flow on this wondrous the path of abundance." Gracefully, I got up and bowed deeply. Returning the bow, Kuchiki-san gave a little smile, and turned to go aid her brother serve new customers who had just arrived.

"We'll talk later, Momo-chan. Ja ne!" As I was about to exit, I hear Momo shout to me.

"Try and talk Shiro-chan into letting you go to school with me!" Smiling to myself, I noted to try and call Hitsuguya-dono Shiro-chan once in a while. Then, the reality of her second statement hit me. I stopped in my tracks, letting the thought disperse throughout my brain, before continuing on my way. I guess Momo did know about my longing for school… How lovely would it be to have Momo my classmate! Maybe, just maybe, Hitsuguya-dono will see my longing for education, and then….

It's way too unlikely, though. Momo could try and convince him; she's always had a way with him thanks to her family providing him a home to live in when he was younger. Maybe if she could work her magic enough… Ah well, what can you do. If he won't let me get an education, then I'd figure something out eventually. They have those classes for adults who weren't educated, right? I could just do one of those…

I sighed to myself, and continued at a hurried pace toward the home office where all of my modeling business began. Kami, I hate that place with a passion! The sweet smells of sakura blossoms made the walk slightly more enjoyable, their petals dancing about the ground. They are so graceful in their decent, only to be blown away with the warms gusts of wind until they land somewhere on the hard ground, awaiting their fate. Sometimes I feel like that, trapped in that controlling wind, with no escape. Just when you think the ride is over, you're thrown into another loop, until you're ultimately thrown underfoot by the big guys. Well, all that's left to do is return to home base and…

HOLY SHIT I'M LATE! Freak, freak freak, Hitsuguya-dono is going to kill me! And I need to wash my mouth out from swearing this much! I bet it was that bald guy's fault… I'm still thinking about him?!?!?! Great. Just great.

"Why, oh why, is my life so miserable?" I squeaked out, before hurrying off as fast as my body would allow. "Just another day in the life. My hell hole of a life."

Sorry for the slow updates! Life's crazy, so yeah... Well, review if you want to make me write more :)


End file.
